1. During the school day, teachers’ attention is spread among many students. A tutor can create a targeted plan for your child’s specific needs.

2. Today, kids have increased access to technology, busy parents, and have extremely busy schedules, all of which can potentially distract them from their studies. Time with a tutor gives them the time to focus only on homework or studying.

3. Tutors have the time to explain a concept in several different ways, instead of having to move class along at a certain pace.

4. Tutoring can also teach study skills, which can then be applied to what’s going on in school.

5. Even for students who are doing well in school, tutoring can provide a competitive edge to do even better.

6. Summer tutoring can prepare students for upcoming difficult subjects, such as algebra, or reinforce what was already learned that year so September isn’t spent playing catch-up.

7. For high school students, individual or small group tutoring can be essential for APs and SAT subject tests.

1. People help each other out
Costa has so many clubs dedicated to helping charities locally and globally. Students and teachers join together to raise money and volunteer for things they are passionate about! And that is really cool. Many clubs raise money, some raise awareness, but the important thing is that Costa students really care about giving back to the global community.

2. Amazing new buildings!
New science buildings that ensure students get amazing hands on experiences and get to use new equipment. Even some of the older buildings have amazing technology and help make learning fun.

3. Everyone is blonde
Blonde is like a recessive gene or something, Costa is basically a crazy science experiment focused on furthering the blonde population. Its totally true because of science.

4. You meet friends for life.
You meet some of the people you will be friends with for the rest of your life. And you get like 6 hours a day to bond with them. And if you haven’t met your BFF so far– there are like 2,000 students. You probably haven’t met them yet.

5. Our sports teams are great
We win games. Run fast. Throw balls through hoops. CIF and stuff.

6. The teachers really care for students
Teachers at Costa are among the highest rated in the nation. Our teachers go above and beyond what is asked of them. Teachers are always going out of their way to like be positive role models, inspire the youth and write awesome letters of recommendation. They are pretty great.

7. Students are (over) achievers
But in a really positive way. We have way more AP classes than most schools, and we have to make more sections to accommodate all the students who want to take them. And if you get in over your head with your overachiever ways there’s always Study Hut to back you up!

8. Everyone has a secret talent.
At Costa, people have all these crazy secret hobbies like jiujitsu and rhythmic gymnastics. It makes the student body really diverse and also probably home of many future Olympians.

9. Amazing student activities and events
Costa ASB throws great school functions like dances, pep-rallies and more. Its fun to release some stress and see a student dressed up in the crazy horse costume.

10. You genuinely get an amazing education
Academics are taught, but life skills are learned. Students from Costa are well equipped to go to college and start making positive changes is the world. Costa paves the way for students to discover themselves and where life might take them.

It’s time for students to put their phones down and disconnect. (And to be clear- this includes tablets, phablets, iPads, smartwatches, Chromebooks, netbooks, web-enabled eyeglasses, and all the rest of the gadgets.) In an era where education and study habits have been transformed by some pretty remarkable online tools and toys, there are still good reasons to disconnect.

For instance, in study after study, researchers have determined that multitasking simply doesn’t work. Multitasking is an especially terrible practice when you need to focus and study. Think about it, it is pretty difficult to think through your essay on Beowulf if you are constantly interrupted with urgent texts, snapchats, tweets, and instagrams all clamoring for your attention. A recent study [1] on college students’ study habits revealed that 10 hours or so of smartphone use reduced their empathy skills or the ability to put oneself in other peoples’ shoes. They became so self-absorbed with their multitasking and devices that they were not able to meaningfully understand and connect with their friends. It seems like multitasking with distracting technology is not only is a bad way to study, but if you are not careful it can also make you a jerk.

So what should we do, abandon our phones altogether when studying? It has been estimated that 75% of Americans are within 5 feet of their smartphones every moment of everyday [2]. There is simply no escape and the phones and their distractions are here to stay. What we need is a way to use these tools responsibly and in way that helps rather than hurts learning. A modern student must be proficient with these tools but we need to strike a balance.

Food for thought: some of the best learning happens when you have the opportunity to thoughtfully reflect on what you’ve studied…just for a minute, put the phone away and go for a walk